Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Housing (Single Payments) on 24th October 1985.

Mr. Gordon Brown Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services in what circumstances single payments are being refused to single persons or married couples who take on the lease of a council house.

Mr. Major It is assumed that the question refers to claims for single payments of supplementary benefit for essential furniture and household equipment. Such claims may be refused for a number of reasons: for example, there is no entitlement to supplementary benefit; there is no need for the item(s) claimed; the claimant’s capital in excess of £500 is sufficient to meet the cost of the item(s); the claimant has not been in receipt of benefit for a continuous period of six months or, where he has, there is suitable, alternative furnished accommodation available in the area.